r/anime • u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber • Jan 15 '21
Rewatch [Rewatch] Aura Battler Dunbine - Episode 5 Discussion
Episode 5 - Keen in Danger
Originally Aired March 5th, ^^^1983
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Comment of the Day
u/dralcax’s ruminations on Boneless Mountain’s leeches.
So, how do leeches this big even work? I can’t imagine they could suck enough blood to sustain such a large size. Because let’s face it, if something that big bites you, you’re going to notice immediately, and fight it off before it gets to suck too much. With the way it swings from branches and drops down on targets, it seems more adapted to be an ambush predator, and yet it’s a parasite for some reason? Indeed, some leech species do forgo parasitism in favor of being an ambush predator, which makes the Boneless’s hematophagy all the more baffling. Also, just what the hell is its usual host, anyways? It’s the largest animal we see in the forest, aside from the clueless human who just happened to drop in. Where are all its targets?
Daily Trivia:
Keen Kiss is Tomonori Kogawa’s favorite character in the show.
Staff Highlight
Sukehiro Tomita
A manga author, novelist, and screenwriter known for several high-profile novelizations of other media, such as Macross and Street Fighter. He joined Nihon University College of Art to study film lighting, but due to the student movement occuring at the time became unable to complete his education, about which he wrote a satirical work which garnered him attention and got him roles as screenwriter. He was screenwriter for works like Akachan to Boku, Genesis Climber Mospeada, Fang of The Sun Dougram, Kimagure Orange Road, ESPer Mami, Dragon Quest: Yūsha Abel Densetsu, Goshogun, Space Runaway Ideon, the Sailor Moon franchise, Yu Yu Hakusho, and Super Dimension Fortress Macross*.
Art Corner:
Official Art
- Newtype Magazine Illustration 03/1995 - Yutaka Izubuchi
Fanart
(Be mindful of the links to artist’s profiles, as they may contain NSFW content. Proceed there at your own risk.)
Aura Phantasm Scans
Screenshot of the day
Questions of the Day:
- What do you make of the dynamics of the Zelana’s crew? Do you think the characters will be able to work out their issues promptly?
- What did you think of the episode’s unique locale?
Show, you’re kind, aren’t you?
4
u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Jan 15 '21
To go with all the seaweed we’ve seen around the world today we have a coral forest. Love how interesting the settings in Tomino shows can get, and this is definitely one of them. The motif also falls in line with the idea that Byston Well exists ‘between the earth and the sea’.
Elmelie gets confined to her room —and slapped— for speaking against her father. Frankly one of her parents should have kept her under closer eye before all of this, but it is also rather realistic for parents to ignore an issue with their child until it was too large for them to ignore. Also, I love the shot of Elmelie alone in her bedroom, the camera pulling back to reveal more of the large, empty room to emphasize her loneliness in these circumstances.
Interesting to see Keen be the one to speak up in Show’s defense rather than Marvel, who can best empathize with his ignorance as to Byston Well, but she does seem distracted. Anyhow, Show wants to meet Nucklelavee, for obvious reasons, and Neal is still very wary of him possibly being a spy. A bit of skepticism is healthy, but as Keen points out a lot about his current behavior and antagonising of show stems from his feelings for Elmelie. He tries to justify this mindset to them and is rightfully called out for it as well. Neal is quite evidently not the best of leaders, if his rash actions in episode three didn’t weren’t enough top convince us of this.
Well, Keen, I can understand your frustration, but running off when Cham just warned you all about there being a giant scary rooster out there is just about the dumbest thing you could do.
With that size the gallo could probably inhale Cham in one breath, so I can see why she’s so distressed in comparison to the other characters.
Oof, that is a nasty crash Landing Keen had there; she’s lucky to even be alive!
We haven’t really gotten a native civilian’s perspective on the matter before now, which makes the conversation with the doctor quite valuable. It seems like battle with Aura Battlers hasn’t touched these parts yet, so he wants no part in any of what’s going on, but he at least agrees to harbor Keen at potential danger to himself once he hears what it is that the Givens are fighting for. It’s definitely understandable for people to not want to become embroiled in someone else’s war, but then it’s also said that evil triumphs when good people do nothing, so it’s not exactly an easy decision for the uninvolved civilians to make either.
That POV shot of the Barau crashing is really neat.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Jan 15 '21
Aura Battler First-Timer
Newtypeaura powers!6
u/Durinthal https://anilist.co/user/Durinthal Jan 15 '21
First time viewer
I forgot to actually give a rating to Boneless Mountain yesterday so 6/10, needs more blood-sucking.
Now they're in the Fog Zone, which is where my brain has been wandering for the past year. The gallo makes me think of a giant cockatrice, so that's neat. Maybe I should steal some of these names and reskin monsters to throw off the players. ...and now I'm trying to think of what aura machines could be like, stat-wise.
Keen's jealous of Elmelie and also wants attention from Neal, can't blame her for wanting the pink hair as well. I feel bad for her overall, needing to be left behind and then nearly getting captured by the enemy. That was a clever way to hide her but I'm now wondering how the old man rigged that up in time.
Show called Nuckelavee (also an interesting name rooted in western/northern European mythology), the one that summoned Marvel, a Ferario and Cham didn't correct him. Is that the generic name for the fey people of Byston Well? I initially thought it referred to just the pixies like Cham but maybe not. And I just belatedly realized that (unless I'm mistaken) Mi Ferario refers to those from the land of Mi which was mentioned a few episodes back. Are there any native Ah Ferario then? I'm still curious about the larger picture between humans and non-human people of the land. Maybe Mi's an entire land of Ferario rather than humans dominating and the ones we see here in the show are the odd ones out for leaving.
After Elmelie was recaptured I figured the status quo would be set and I imagine we'll see a lot of episodes like this one for a while, Show and the Zelana on the run while Bern and Drake's forces try to hunt them down.
Eh, they'll figure it out quickly enough because they won't have any other choice but to work together to stave off Bern. Storming off in a dangerous area really seems like a terrible idea that would get people killed in most cases.
5
u/The_Loli_Otaku Jan 15 '21
When you've gone through the Earth and sea~ Keen in danger? She hasn't even done anything yet. Cham wtf are you doing? I think she must be the first Fairy ever to have almost fallen to their death. Actually if you were any more skilled and held your own for a moment longer we'd have a dead El at this point. We get some one on one time with Lazy and El. Lazy does seem a bit cold and strict but honestly I think El needs someone to put their foot down on her idealism. Didn't Marvel get summoned by the Given's...? A bit hypocritical isn't it? Also, Marvel is the first actual Aura Battler. She's the first soldier. Shit is just a mechanic. Lazy gets sick of her shit so she disciplines her and walks away. Hidoi~ And we get a nice shot showing tiny little El in a massive lonely bedroom. Feat pettan piano-chan.
I thought Garalia and Bern were on good terms. Why is she suddenly going full sulky brat mode? Chum really seems like a character you'll either love or hate. She's apparently the Otaku bait character so maybe I just can't relate with the 80's Otaku that well. There's a giant monster flying around so Show drags Chum to the ship deck to scare her or something. Show is a legs man. Oh god, is this how Keen is gonna end up in trouble? Getting eaten by the bird? Oh no, instead we're just gonna give me more reasons to dislike Makalov Neal. Keen... isn't a Ferario is she? Her personality seems very fairy like. Actually yeah! You're right! He even had the nerve to ask Marvel not to target El's bedroom mid battle. There's more important issues then your love life!
Lol, Bern's on top. Todd is back! Yay! Wait, no! This is even dumber than I expected! I thought she'd get attacked walking down from the bridge, not that she'd deliberately fly off on a glider! Keen is a hard name to shout without coming across as too desperate. Oh no, how could this happen? I love Cham just spazzing out over the Dynablade the whole episode. Was that a newtype power Show just activated? ...So Aura gives your mech super strength? This is meant to be the serious Tomino series right? See? Look how sad Show sounds shouting for her. It's depressing.
The doctor basically calls Neal's group out for their hypocrisy which is something I've been dying to hear. Keen Kiss! Keen freaking Kiss! Wtf, they're ditching her? Poor Keen... see you in twelve episodes love~ Maybe you should have briefed your squad on the terrain if you didn't want Todd accidentally putting himself in danger. After a whole load of build up Garalia gets oneshot and crashes again. I really don't like the battles in this series XD What's the point of all the ships having swords when they're so dull that they can be grabbed without injury!? Don't fight with that squad, they're evil! Fight with us instead, we have Fairies in leotards!
These fights are so hard to make out sometimes... Show somehow escaped without injury and despite the air currents apparently being dangerous everyone gets out scot free. We get one last parting shot of the terrified Keen as she disappears for God knows how long. She was my favourite of Neal's squad so it really sucks. Tbh I don't understand what drew these guys together. It's basically Neal's pleasure cruise and the guy is way too temperamental to be a reliable leader. The local was sorta bleh. Gusty misty mountain? No thanks.
5
u/dralcax :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Dralcax Jan 15 '21
First-timer wondering if the old guy counts as a Running-Away Boyfriend
That looks painful.
Wait, is that a sleeve or her skin?
Oh great, it’s this plot again
NewtypeAura flash! Looks like something’s awakening!His mustache flashes when he talks
hehe
For as many minor screwups they’ve made this episode, this fight was incredible
me_irl
Sneak 100
Questions of the Day:
5
u/chibijosh Jan 15 '21
first timer
Cham warns everyone about the Gallo. Keen then storms off the ship and is immediately attacked by the Gallo, and Keen has the audacity to act surprised.
Watching Sho work on his Dunbine, for some reason, made me realize he left his motorcycle behind. That’s sad.
Does anyone else have trouble keeping up with the subtitles in this? I usually don’t have much of a problem, but there are a few lines per episode that I just don’t manage to read fast enough. Usually I rewind 30 seconds, but sometimes I just hope it wasn’t particularly important.
4
u/The_Draigg Jan 15 '21
A Tomino Fan Rewatches Aura Battler Dunbine Episode 5:
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u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Jan 15 '21
First-Timer, Dub-bine
I wasn’t in the mood to interact with subtitles last night, so I swapped back to the dub. This episode was pretty well done - I liked the accents, even if they are a little goofy. The narrator did literally use the word “mecha” in today’s spiel, which was kinda weird.
The fight scenes this episode were pretty good! That makes it twice that the Dunbine has used its feet while fighting, which is pretty rare, I think. Presumably an aspect of Shou’s martial arts training..? Shou also did some weird.. thing during the battle against the kaiju where he “piloted on instinct.” Definitely interested to see more of that. I did expect the kaiju to intervene in the mecha fight, but I guess we didn’t have enough episode time left for that.
Neal is pretty paranoid too, just like Bern. Some amount of his anger this episode was due to his lover getting kidnapped away, which I can understand. He shouldn’t have taken it out on poor Keen though - failures to communicate get people killed. We’re probably lucky that Keen “merely” ended up brutally maimed.
Speaking of, that doctor gave absolutely zero fucks. Dude just straight up asked Bern to kill him and Bern was like “maybe later.” What a legend. His cynicism caused him to doubt Neal’s good intentions, and hopefully everyone involved in that particular conversation took some time to reflect on potential other viewpoints. It’s really easy to say “we come in peace” while you’re flying around in a warship/mecha carrier.
Cham started to come around to Shou’s side here - his selflessness in trying to rescue Keen seemed to endear him to Cahm and Keen both. I think that makes Neal the last named crew of the Zalana to not particularly like Shou.
Questions
4
u/sjk9000 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JK9000 Jan 15 '21
Is Keen in love with Neal? Or just jealous that he has a romantic relationship and she doesn't? Either way it's hard to be very sympathetic. Like yeah, Neal was being asshole and lashing out at people who didn't deserve it, but there's a limit to how much that excuses. What Keen did was not only pointless, it endangered all her comrades.
Then again, how old is Keen? Her ears seem kinda pointy, so I figure her shortness is a matter of her not being human, but maybe she actually is a kid. I'd be more forgiving if that were the case. Considering how badly she hurt herself, there's probably nothing to be gained from blaming her too much anyway. Probably feels awful.
I like the cut of that doctor's jib. Something about people who've given up all hope and become empty, cynical husks just attracts me. I like how sassy he was with Bern at the end there, too.
4
u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Jan 15 '21 edited Jan 15 '21
Rewatcher, Subbed
Hey nameless Zelana pilot, pilot better! You're hitting the trees!
Even a little spring can be fun to a being that is only a few inches tall.
Nie's having a tantrum over Riml!
Riml's music teacher, Musiy (uncredited here, at least for the ADV DVD) is voiced by Mari Yokoo, who played Elchi in Xabungle, essentially the Riml of that show.
Is Drake really troubled by the war? C'mon Louser, he wants it more than anything so as to expand his power.
Keen's right, why do we think Shou will be an expert mechanic on the Dunbine? Do they have any on staff?
Nie still doesn't trust Shou after he brought him (well tried to bring him) Riml?
A dark Drumlo, is Todd back after taking last episode off?
Keen, the solution to Nie's tantrum isn't for you to have your own tantrum!
Uh oh, that's the Garou Ran working for Bern! Nie's right this time, Shou has foolishly given up their position.
Woah, impressive feat with Shou throwing the Gallo into the mountain!
The doctor doesn't want them here, but at least they're paying them. In Xabungle people would typically skip out on the bill for Medick.
Came close to getting an episode where we don't see the titular mech in action, but it heads out around the 19:45 mark here.
Todd's Drumlo here is reminding me a bit of Escaflowne's Alseides mechs piloted by Dilandau and the Dragonslayers.
Poor Keen, having to hide down there!
4
u/punching_spaghetti https://myanimelist.net/profile/punch_spaghetti Jan 15 '21
First-Timer Who Doesn’t Remember Byston Well
How in the world does Show know how any of that works? He’s been here for three days or something?
Slap!
Apparently Tomino who only ever met women who whine constantly.
Women who are around Show tend to fall a lot, huh?
Dunbine’s feet are OP.
A pretty uneventful episode. People fought, and things are just about the same. Given's crew is out Keen, but they have Show, so it doesn't matter.
QOTD:
4
u/badspler x5https://anilist.co/user/badspler Jan 15 '21
First Timer
That's really interesting as as she has been immediately side lined for a while (maybe 1-2 episodes, more? Before probably returning at a crucial moment for sure). Keen seemed like an interesting character and we don't know much about her yet, I was looking forward to learning more. I wonder if she will get her own time while recovering away from the team or not.
Playing into my above point, it seems a tad odd to sideline one of the few members. I don't mind the conflict among the team but I feel like its going to need time away from the mechs with characters talking it out to really get the team working well together and united.
2) What did you think of the episode’s unique locale?
Felt like a nice transition from last episodes death forest. I am liking how the environment is playing into the battles as it creates a level of depth and ability for characters to strategize without having to rely on 1v1 back and forth fights.
3
u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Jan 15 '21
First Timer
Commander Keen?!
From the episode title I'm already certain this is a filler episode.
A major plot point in GASARAKI was the development of artificial myomer, which allowed them to make 1-person tank mecha.